Olive doesn't like millet?

[Kellie728]

I've had my Lovebird just short of a week (first time owner) and i have a question about millet. Does anyone know of a Lovebird not liking millet? I have put some in her cage and she hasn't touched it. She is eating other food (only sunflower seeds, i know, not a balanced diet but i am working on that) and drinking water. Is she possibly not eating the millet because she's got the sunflower seeds as a treat instead? Are they picky about millet being fresh? I have read several threads about millet and they all say that their Lovebirds go crazy for it. Just curious as to what others think about this.

 

[Birdbabe]

Keep offering it, maybe play with it too. Make it inticing, say yum yum. Pretend to eat it yourself.

 

[Kellie728]

Thanks, I haven't tried that so I will and see if it works. She has started nipping too. I've read posts that say to distract them, but so far i haven't found anything, including toys, that she's interested in besides the sunflower seeds and my jewelry. Some say to ignore it when they nip, others say to tell them "no". Guess it depends on the individual bird. She also sits on my shoulder and she was stepping up, but now when i put my finger near her she either nips it or moves away to my back or other shoulder. Little stinker. It seems the more comfortable she gets the nippier she gets. Truly like a 3 year old, testing the limits. This is my first bird and i'm learning as i go along. I have no idea how old she is (or even if she is truly a "she") because i got her from the humane society and they didn't know. I am taking her to the vet next week for a checkup and maybe they will have an idea.

 

[Laurul Feather Cat]

It may be the breeder didn't introduce her to millet. Myself, I have never not had a bird like it once they tried it. I did get two lovebirds once that didn't recognize it, but once the other birds started eating it, they tried it too....

 

[SEWIgurl]

I would continue to work on the step up before allowing shoulder sitting. They need to be able to step up no matter what, it could save her from danger later on.

You could try pulling thee millet bits off the stalk and mixing it with other seeds. If she only eats the sunflower seeds in a mix bag you might want to pull those out first.

I know my lil lovie only eats seeds if i offer seeds and pellets, so i remove seeds and he happily eats pellets.. might try the same

Best of luck on the nipping., i have no advice because my lovie doesn't bite or when he does its not hard enough to notice

 

[Kellie728]

Thank you for all the suggestions. Tonight my husband and I pretended to eat the millet making a big production of it and she did actually eat some. Don't know if she will eat in her cage but I am glad she was willing to try it

As far as the nipping goes I think it might be a trust issue. She likes to sit on our arms or wrists as opposed to our hands. She doesn't let us touch her yet. Will just have to see how goes. .

 

[mstomcat65]

my lacey looks just like your lovie Lacey is the opposite, she loves millet but won't touch the sunflower seeds, lol. I have had lacey a little over a year now. she didn't step up or want anything to do with us at first. Now she is a Velcro bird! Her turning point started when she was with us 4 months. She bonded with me but has accepted my hubby for scritches after he gets home from work. She has always been nippy even tho she was hand fed. I guess it comes with being owned by a hen, lol.

 

[Kellie728]

The nipping is getting better but she is still doing it. It is VERY hard to try and show no reaction when she is biting my face, neck, and or fingers but i think it's working. She hasn't drawn blood, thank goodness. She does step up better than she had been. We have been keeping her off our heads. And she definately likes to be around us so that is a very good thing. Today she goes to the vet for a check up. Will be interesting to see what his opinion is on wing clipping. She still doesn't eat millet so I will be trying other food options (veggies and stuff) Wish me luck. mstomcat65, they do look alike!

 

[mstomcat65]

It seems landing on the head is popular with lovebirds lol. I'm guessing it's because it's the highest point on us. I have been trying to discourage it also but she has her mind made up so i'm not sure how easy it will be to get it changed. I was going to also suggest you just hang the millet in her cage. That's what i did, had to leave it there a couple days and she finally started nibbling on it. She won't eat sunflower seeds, she likes to crack them open but that's as far as it goes. She will eat a little pecan and walnut, but no peanuts or other nuts that I've tried so far. What kind of veggies will she eat? Lacey will only eat broccoli, carrots, alittle red pepper (loves the seeds tho) and for fruit apples. She is pretty picky on what she eats but she's beginning to try different things again.

 

[Monica]

Although not a lovebird, Tomi Girl, a cockatiel, didn't know what millet was when I took her in. I don't know how old she was, nor how her first home(s) cared for her, only how the previous home nearly killed her from neglect. When I stuck millet in her cage, she ignored it! Wouldn't touch it. However, after she became a part of the cockatiel flock and *they* were eating millet, she learned to enjoy it!


I do not recommend ignoring the bite, nor do I recommend punishing a bird for biting. Instead, try to figure out why she's biting, then try to avoid situations that will result in a bite. If you know it's a trust issue, then go slower, ask her for a behavior (instead of forcing the behavior), and reward her with her favorite treat - sunflower seeds!

 

[Happynme]

Happy was hand fed by Me....and is now 6 mo old. I've learned a lot, mostly by.trial and error. One thing i can say is lovebirds for the most part are nippy. ...however i found the key to happy s nipping is to start giving her other things to do besides nip.
If she had a treat or toy in her mouth...she was less likely to nip. If i had her busy target train ing then her lil birdie brain was on that instead of where to nip mom next. Your still in the get to know you phase and it takes time. Soon you will learn her favorite food..and can use that as a training tool. Eventually you'll have a lovie that at the least will step up, and not constantly lunge at you to nip. Will olive be sweet and cuddly....who knows. But you are loving enough to give her a new home, and are here to learn so that speaks a lot about your caracther. Good luck and remember a month to us is only second s to them. Patience....and training. I will say happy LOVES the top of my head too. I think.it's just a lovie thing.

 

[Happynme]

Oh...i forgot to say....if sunflower seeds are her fav....totally take them.OFF the menu....make her work for them. Step up on moms finger without lunging to nip...seed. targets for you..seed. dosent bite...seed.
So no sseed unless she behaves the way you like. If you dont give her the option of them in her cup...shell miss those and will work for them, soon shell associate...i stepped up, i got a sseed. I didn't nip moms ear...sseed. before you know it you can weed out them and reward only intermittently and not for everything. But while she is in a adaptible time frame...use those sseed s!!!

 

[Happynme]

For what.its worth...pecan is happy will do ANYTHING to get it. She does like millet...but PECAN Is happys ticket.

 

[Kellie728]

I have taken all sunflower seeds out of her food mix so that they can be used as a treat. She does get more nippy when she isn't preoccupied so I try and keep her busy. She is starting to step up more consistently but like you all said it is just going to take time. I wish I could get her to play more when she is out of her cage but so far haven't figured out what play things she likes. Btw we took her to the vet and she is four yrs old (it's on the band on her leg). My husband and I sure are enjoying her. I smile every morning when I hear her first chirp.

 

[Kellie728]

Oh yeah, she also doesn't have any interest in chewing paper (for now). My books appreciate that

 

[Skyler]

My tiels read your post and said :They would be more than happy to take all the Millet the lovies don't want!!!!

 

[Monica]

Try the hard plastic cat balls! Something like these!

Y-ATP-WPK Kaleidoball - ACRYLIC/PLASTIC PARTS



However, please avoid ones like these! (more likely to break, which can be a potential danger)

http://spoiledrottenkitties.com/PK301.jpg
http://m4.sourcingmap.com/photo_new/20120521/g/ux_a12052100ux0111_ux_g03.jpg

These are the soft plastic type of balls rather than hard plastic... but you can see this little lovie enjoys playing with them!

 

[Kellie728]

I do not recommend ignoring the bite, nor do I recommend punishing a bird for biting

Everything i have read says not to react to bites because they are looking for a reaction, but we also don't punish her for it either. Haven't really figured out why she does it besides my guesses of boredom and lack of trust. It hasn't even been 3 weeks since we've had her which i keep having to remind myself of.

Those videos are so cute of the lovies playing with balls. Right now she either wants to be on top of her cage or on our arms/shoulders so it's hard to know what she likes to play with. Once she gains more trust in us I'm hoping alot of things will resolve themselves. Or not, lol, but we are learning as we go along.

Thank you everyone for the advice/suggestions. Went to book store this past weekend to look for books about lovie behavior and amongst the 500 cat and dog books there was 1 book about birds. Granted, i don't think there were any about other animals either(rodents, amphibians, etc) but i was really disappointed. Yes, cats and dogs are by far the more popular pets, but there other furry, scaled, and feathered pets out there!

 

[Monica]

Birds can bite for many reasons.

Fear - You got too close to the bird, the bird can't escape, bird bites out of fear.
Aggression - Bird 'taught' to bite because no one established proper communication with the bird and/or lack of socialization.
Boredom - Bird is bored so starts exploring with their beak
Curiosity - A mole or a hair looks intriguing and bird explores the area with their beak.
Hormones - Doesn't necessarily result in birds being bity so much as they are more 'trigger happy' if something bothers them in some way
No/Not Right Now - When a behavior is requested of a bird, bird tells you "No" via body language, but when that's ignored, they'll bite
Uncomfortable - If a bird is uncomfortable with a situation, they may bite
Startled - If a bird gets startled, they might bight instinctually
Hyper/Excited - When birds are in an excited mood, they may be more likely to bite


None of these situations are about biting to get a reaction! Birds only bite to get a reaction if they've been taught to bite to get a reaction! i.e. bird bites and human goes "Bad birdy! That wasn't very nice! No biting!" or some other ridiculous thing, and the bird enjoys the attention!



Think about it this way instead...... The only bite that can't be rewarded is the bite that never occurs.

 

[Kellie728]

Hi Monica, thanks for the input. Any advice or info from experienced lovie owners is great. I know that she is biting for a reason, just need to figure out what that is and i know it's going to take time. From your descriptions i think it would be either aggression, boredom, or being uncomfortable. She likes to be around us and sit on our shoulders. She nips my fingers, ears, and neck. She does step up well and is getting better at not nipping before she does it. We have tried positive reinforcement and keeping her busy so she doesn't want to nip. Since we don't know her past, i think it's more difficult to know why she does it.

On another note, have tried giving her lots of veggies, which she tries but then turns up her nose. Will keep trying, maybe she likes them cooked instead of raw. She is definately a challenge but that is one thing that i like about her.